'Barbarella' Remake Returns Minus The Awesome Camp Factor

I've got an idea, let's just try and take every campy film out there, especially the ones only loved for their irresistible badness, and morph them into serious cinema. Who needs a wise-cracking Ash and his boomstick when you can have a stoic and bland hero growl whilst massacring baddies? Why have fuzzy killer tomatoes attack when they can be real tomatoes with an honest blood lust and fangs? Why have car races where you get points for hitting passerby when you can have grown men racing around for their lives and taking it seriously?

That last one, we've already gotten in the form of Death Race, and now The Hollywood Reporter reports that Joe Gazzam has been tapped to write the new adaptation of Barbarella, and: "The new take on the iconic character will not be campy, though it will keep the sexuality; there will be seductions, but the focus will be on the adventure." Yes, this means that Robert Rodriguez is completely out, and now Robert Luketic (Monster-in-Law, The Ugly Truth, 21) is taking over the directorial responsibilities. This is no joke.